A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

1112 NASO. NATALIS.
with his company. There is another Nasidienus
mentioned by Martial (vii. 54).
NASI'DIUS, Q. or L.*, was sent by Pompey,
in B. C. 49, with a fleet of sixteen ships to relieve
Massilia, when it was besieged by Caesar's troops, i
under the command of D. Brutus. He was unable, M
however, to effect his object, was defeated by
Brutus, and fled to Africa, where it appears that he
had the command of the Pompeian fleet. (Caes. B.C. COIN OF L. AXIUS NASO.
ii. 3-7; Cic. ad Att. xi. 17; Auctor, Bell. Afr. NASO, JU'LIUS, an intimate friend of Pliny
64, 98.) After the conquest of Africa by Caesar, and Tacitus, both of whom interested themselves
Nasidius probably fled to Spain and followed the much in his success, when he became a candidate for
fortunes of the Pompeian party, but lie is not men- the public offices of the state (Plin. Ep. vi. 6, 9).
tioned again for some time. Cicero, in his seventh One of Pliny's letters (iv. 6) is addressed to him.
Philippic (c. 9), speaks of an L. Visidius, a Roman NASO, L. OCTA'VIUS. whose heres was L.
eques, who had assisted him in suppressing the Flavius, praetor designatus in B. C. 59. (Cic. ad
conspiracy of Catiline, and who was at that time Q. Fr. i. 2. ~ 3.)
(B. C. 43) engaged in levying troops to oppose An- NASO, CN. OTACI'LIUS, is recommended by
tony at Mutina. For L. Visidius Orelli proposes Cicero to the notice and favour of Acilius, in B. c.
to read L. Nasidius, which occurs in a few manu- 46. (Cic. ad Fam. xiii. 33.)
scripts, but Garatoni objects (ad loc.) that it is NASO, OVI/DIUS. [OVIDIUS.]
unlikely that Pompey would have given him the NASO, SE/XTIUS, one of the conspirators
command of a fleet, unless he had held some office against Caesar, B. C. 44. (Appian, B. C. ii. 13.)
in the state, and we know that the appellation of NASO, VALE'RIUS, who had previously been
Roman eques was not applied to a person after lie praetor, was sent to Smyrna in A. D. 26, to superhad been quaestor. But whether this passage refers intend the erection of a temple to Tiberius (Tac.
to Nasidius or not, we do not hear of him again Ann. iv. 56).
till B. C. 35, when he is mentioned as one of the NASO, Q. VOCO'NIUS, the judex quaestionis
principal officers of Sex. Pompey, who deserted to in the trial of Cluentius, B. C. 66. Since Cicero in
Antony upon the failing fortunes of the former. one passage calls him Q. Naso (pro Cluent. c. 53),
(Appian, B. C. v. 139.) He continued faithful to and in another Q. Voconius (Ibid. c. 54), Garatoni
the fortunes of Antony in the civil war between and Klotz, in their notes upon Cicero's oration,
him and Octavian, and commanded part of An- make two different persons out of Q. Voconius
tony's fleet, which was defeated by Agrippa off Naso, namely Q. Voconius, the judex quaestionis,
Patrae, in B. C. 31, previous to the decisive battle and Q. Naso, the praetor. But Madvig has shown
of Actium. (Dion Cass. 1. 13.) The coin annexed satisfactorily (de Ascon. p. 121), that Cicero refers
refers to Nasidius: it bears on the obverse the only to one person, the judex quaestionis, pointing
head of Pompey with a trident and NEPTVNI, and out moreover that the judices quaestionum were
on the reverse a ship with Q. NASIDIVS. appointed to preside in those cases which the
praetors, from their limited number, could not
attend to, and that accordingly a praetor and a
judex quaestionis would not be in the same court.
This opinion of Madvig is also adopted by Zumpt
(ad Cic. aer. p. 234). Cicero in his oration for
/e r f j i w JFlaccus, B. C. 59, speaks (c. 21) of Q. Naso, as
X~( <hP1 9 s <%Xt$Dhaving been praetor, but the year of his praetorship
is unknown. (Orelli, Onrom. Tull. p. 649.)
NATA'LIS, ANTO'NIUS, a Roman eques,
COIN OF NASIDIUS. was one of Piso's friends, and joined him in the
conspiracy against Nero, A. D. 66, but having
NASO, P. a man whom Cicero speaks of as become suspected, and being threatened with the
" omni carens cupiditate," was praetor B. C. 44 (Cic. torture, he disclosed the names of the conspirators,
Philipp. iii. 10). He seems to be the same as and thus escaped punishment. (Tac. Ann. xv. 50,
Naso, the augur, whom Cicero mentioned in a letter 54-56, 71.)
in the preceding year (ad Att. xii. 17). The gen- NATA'LIS, CAECI'LIUS, the person who
tile name of Naso does not occur. maintains the cause of paganism in the dialogue of
NASO, M. ACTO'RIUS. [ACTORIUS.] Minucius Felix, entitled Octavius. [FELIX, MlNASO, ANTOINIUS, a tribune of the prae- NUCIUS.] Various conjectures have been made as
torian troops, A. D. 69 (Tac. liust. i. 20). He may to who this Natalis was; but there are no sufficient
be the same person as the L. Antonius Naso, who, data for deciding the question. (Bdhr, Christl.
as we learn from coins, was procurator of Bithynia Riisn. Tbeoloqie, ~ 19.)
inl the reign of Vespasian. (Eckhel, vol. ii. p. 404.) NATA'LIS, MINU'CIUS or MINI'CIUS.
NASO, L. A'XIUS, only mentioned on coins, There is a rescript of Trajan to Minucius Natalis
a specimen of which is annexed. The obverse re- (Dig. 2. tit. 12. s. 9), who was probably a proconpresents a woman's head surmounted with a helmet, sul, and may be the jurist Natalis. In this passage
with NASO. S. C.; the reverse, Diana in a chariot of the Digest his name is written Minitius Natalis.
-drawn by stags, with one dog before her and two This person appears to have been also consul and
behind her, and the legend L. AxsIVs. L. F. augur. The letter of Pliny the Younger to his
friend Minucius may probably be addressed to
* He is called Lucius in Caesar, but Quintus in Minucius Fundanus. (Plin. Ep. vii. 12.)
Dion Cassius and on coins. The time of the jurist Natalis is determined as